There is widespread agreement that solar electric systems improve the capacity and reliability of your regional electric grid.

Solar electric systems generate the most power when the sun is strongest, during midday and afternoon hours. That is also the time when demand on the electric grid is highest. Solar energy systems can help the utility meet this peak demand. Distributed PV installations at multiple sites can produce power where needed, lowering transmission losses and further reducing the strain on the grid.

A study by Richard Perez (1) posits that the Northeast U.S. Power Blackout of August 14 2003 may have been avoided if local solar power systems amounting to just a few percent of regional peak loads had been available.